China may restrict rare earth exports to US - report

China is looking into restricting rare earth exports, including tungsten and molybdenum, to the United States, the Global Times reported on Tuesday. These restrictions may be just the beginning of Chinese countermeasures on US products, the Chinese outlet noted.

China dropped rare earth element quotas in 2015 after it lost a trade dispute at the World Trade Organization (WTO) which was filed by the United States, the European Union and Japan. Rare earth elements are used in technological devices and in the production of national defense equipment.

The news from China comes after trade talks between Washington and Beijing continued to drag on longer than expected after the two countries could not agree on a draft text of the trade deal. The US introduced new tariffs on Chinese products and even blacklisted Chinese tech giant Huawei, while reports suggested that China was angered that the US introduced some last-minute demands that "would directly affect Chinese political and social stability." Meanwhile, when first reports of stalled talks came out, US officials blamed China for pulling out of some commitments it had allegedly initially agreed on.